Fraser Reed Proves Unbeatable in the Audevard Winter Grand Prix
Saturday 21 March 2026
Fraser Reed set an unbeatable target on Matthew Pike’s SES Jumeirah to land the Audevard Winter Grand Prix at the British Showjumping Winter Championships.
“I’ve not had a horse like him for a while,” said Fraser, who won Young Rider and International classes with Westbank Rio before he was sold. “It’s nice to be competitive at this level again.”
Twenty competitors set out over a 12-fence course, and such was the quality, 10 returned clear rounds to battle it out against the clock, Joe Trunkfield and Mark Edwards claiming two chances apiece at the big prize.
Nonetheless, Fraser Reed had nothing to lose in first draw and hit the ground running with the nine-year-old SES Jumeirah (Diamant De Semilly x VDL Douglas), slicing corners and galloping at tall verticals and wide oxers alike to stop the clock that proved impossible to catch. Riders chased hard, but in doing so, fell into the trap, and Fraser won with the sole double clear – and the fastest time of the class.
“He’s naturally so fast, I just have to follow him and stay out of his way,” said Fraser, who won a 3* 1.45m in Valencia, Spain, at the beginning of the month. “Mark and Joe are so fast, I just had to go for it. I was surprised though, I didn’t think the course was unusually big, but they just had to try and catch me.”
Last to go on Srikumar Balasubramaniyam’s nine-year-old Corvette VH Reukenis Z (Cicero Z Van Paemel x Broere VDL Corland), Joe Trunkfield so nearly caught Fraser, but the handsome nine-year-old grey regrettably hit the back rail of the first element. However, as the fastest four-faulter, the pair claimed second place and topped the Winter Grand Prix League by 47 points to take the Lesley McNaught Memorial Trophy home.
“Corvette has jumped five Winter Grands Prix and been in the top three of all of them, plus jumped double clear in everyone bar this one. Pure consistency and his mindset makes my job very easy, and he never deliberately hits a fence,” said Joe. “And owner Srikumar is so very supportive.”
NB Results pending final grading
Image: Suzanne Jones
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